Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler has warned that artificial intelligence (AI) technology will be at the center of future financial crises. The securities regulator has put out a specific proposal to address some of the issues that could be embedded in AI models. SEC Chair Gensler on AI and Financial Crises The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, outlined some of his biggest concerns regarding artificial intelligence (AI) in an interview with Dealbook’s Ephrat Livni on Monday. The rise of generative AI tools like Chatgpt indicates that the technology is poised to transform business and society. The SEC chairman said: This technology will be the center of future crises, future financial crises … It has to do with this powerful set of economics around scale and networks. Gensler expressed concern that certain AI models may prioritize the interests of companies over those of investors, leading to potential ...

South Africa, the host of the BRICS summit this year, has published a list of 23 countries that have applied to become members of the economic bloc. Moreover, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has invited 67 leaders and 20 representatives of major organizations to the BRICS summit. French President Emmanuel Macron, however, is not invited. 23 Countries Apply to Join BRICS South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Naledi Pandor, revealed at a briefing on the upcoming BRICS summit on Monday that 23 countries have officially applied to join the economic bloc. The BRICS summit will take place on Aug. 22-24 in Johannesburg. South Africa is hosting the BRICS summit this year. South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, China’s President Xi Jinping, Brazil’s President Luiz Lula da Silva, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are expected to attend. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend in person . According to the South African official...

U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) has warned of severe consequences of a nuclear war between the U.S. and Russia. In one estimate, more than five billion people could die from a war between the two nations, including around 99% of those in the U.S., Europe, Russia, and China. RFK Jr on Potential US-Russia Nuclear War U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has raised concerns about the severe consequences of a nuclear war between the U.S. and Russia in a series of tweets. RFK Jr. is a son of former U.S. Attorney General and Senator Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy. The presidential hopeful wrote on Sunday: How would a nuclear war between the U.S. and Russia affect you? He also shared a video that outlines what the aftermath of a full-scale nuclear war between Russia and the U.S. could look like based on non-classified data. The video referenced a research paper published in August last year, which estimate...

A think tank analyst says the U.S. dollar’s dominance may be coming to an end as countries position themselves for a new international system. “As the reliance on U.S. dollars diminishes, central banks will begin dumping their dollar reserves. This will result in hyperinflation, a spike in interest rates to compensate for the loss of purchasing power, and falling asset prices, further accelerating U.S. decline,” he described. Analyst Says ‘Dollar Dominance May Be Coming to an End’ Lowy Institute, an independent international policy think tank, published an opinion piece titled “De-dollarization: shifting power between the US and BRICS” on Aug. 3. The article is authored by Michael Roach, a management consultant and researcher for the institute. “Will a new global reserve currency threaten the greenback’s supremacy? The short answer is yes,” Roach began. The analyst predicted: The dollar dominance may be coming to an end. He detailed that when Saudi Arabia and Russia signed a mi...

A team of Kenyan police officers is reported to have raided the premises used by Worldcoin and seized devices storing users’ data. The raid came just days after the Kenyan government announced the suspension of Worldcoin’s activities in the country. Officers Armed With Search Warrant The Kenyan police recently raided a building housing cryptocurrency and biometric ID project Worldcoin, and reportedly took away devices used for storing data. According to a local report , the law enforcement agents were not only armed with a search warrant but had the backing of so-called multi-agency officials. The raid on Worldcoin’s Kenyan offices came barely a week after the government suspended the cryptocurrency project on grounds that it posed a threat to public safety. Before that, Kenya’s data regulating agency had sounded the alarm over Worldcoin’s activities in the East African country. However, following the move by the Kenyan government, Tools for Humanity (TFH)’s Alex Blania said in...

Bitcoin rebounded on Tuesday, following the news that Paypal was launching a USD stablecoin on the ethereum blockchain. The company hopes the move will bridge the gap between fiat and cryptocurrencies for all of its stakeholders. Ethereum was marginally higher today. Bitcoin Bitcoin ( BTC ) was back in the green on Tuesday, as the cryptocurrency made marginal gains during today’s session. The move came as Paypal announced its USD stablecoin, which will be hosted on the ethereum blockchain. Following the news, CEO Dan Schulman said: “Our commitment to responsible innovation and compliance, and our track record delivering new experiences to our customers, provides the foundation necessary to contribute to the growth of digital payments through Paypal USD.” BTC /USD rose to a peak of $29,402.65 on the news, following a low of $28,724.14 the day prior. Today’s peak sees bitcoin trade at its highest point since last Wednesday, when it was last above $30,000. Tuesday’s rally has also...

Representative Patrick McHenry, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, weighed in positively on the launch of PYUSD, a dollar-pegged stablecoin issued by Paypal, a U.S.-based payments company. McHenry stated that if properly regulated, stablecoins “hold promise as a pillar of our 21st-century payments system,” calling on Congress to put clear rules on the sector by enacting stablecoin-specific regulation. Representative McHenry States Stablecoins Might Become ‘Pillar’ of Current Payment Systems U.S. Representative Patrick McHenry issued a statement on Monday, weighing in on the significance of the recent U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin launched by payments behemoth Paypal. McHenry, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, viewed this development positively, stating that Paypal’s announcement was “a clear signal that stablecoins—if issued under a clear regulatory framework—hold promise as a pillar of our 21st-century payments system.” Paypal announced the lau...

Palauan senator Mark Rudimch has called for an audit of Palau’s stablecoin pilot program, launched by the country’s ministry of finance in partnership with Ripple in July. In a letter sent to the public auditor Satrunino Tewid, Rudimch reported the Palauan senate had concerns regarding the “constitutionality, security, accountability, statutory authority, and oversight of the program.” Palau’s Ripple-Backed Stablecoin Pilot Faces Senate Opposition Palau’s Ripple-backed stablecoin program, launched and announced in July, faces opposition from the Palauan senate. According to local reports, Senator Mark Rudimch, chairman of the Senate Resources, Commerce, Trade and Development Committee, has requested Public Auditor Satrunino Tewid audit the program, voicing various concerns regarding the ongoing test. In a letter sent to Tewid, Rudimch stated : The Senate has some concerns regarding the constitutionality, security, accountability, statutory authority, and oversight of the program....

Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman says additional interest rate increases will likely be needed to get inflation on a path down to the Fed’s target. “I will also be watching for signs of slowing in consumer spending and signs that labor market conditions are loosening,” the Fed governor added. More Interest Rate Hikes Likely Needed, Says Fed Governor Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman indicated in her remarks on Saturday at an event hosted by the Kansas Bankers Association in Colorado that the U.S. central bank may need to implement additional interest rate increases to completely restore price stability. She also affirmed her endorsement of the rate hike decision made at last month’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. In July, Fed officials raised the federal funds rate to a range of 5.25% to 5.5%, the highest level in 22 years. Governor Bowman stated: Additional rate increases will likely be needed to get inflation on a path down to the FOMC’s 2% targe...